Bridges
by RedSavant
Summary: After the Omega 4 Jump, Alex Shepard finds herself at a loss. Separated from Cerberus and at odds with the Alliance, she has few allies and fewer chances to survive the coming battles. But even in times of war, connections thought broken can be rebuilt.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, everyone, I'm back with a first for me: a foray into the world of Mass Effect. This story is set AFTER the end of Mass Effect 2, so please don't read it if you haven't finished.**

**For those of you who have, some pertinent information: FemShep, everyone survived the suicide mission, some profanity (because I just had to give Jack a cameo in the first part). I hope to make Shep's background and suchlike clear in later chapters, so I won't post 'em here.**

* * *

The Omega 4 Relay.

Lurking in the blackness of space, a hulking blood-red monstrosity of legend, the Relay seemed to radiate a sense of quiet menace. Unlike the more well-traveled Relays between systems, the surface of Omega 4 was pitted and corroded: a testament to its age, and a visible, chilling reminder of the implacable foe the galaxy faced in the Reapers.

Commander Alexandra Shepard, PCV _Normandy_-SR2, shuddered at the sight. So much had happened through the Relay – it had been such a blitz of adrenaline, nerves, and outright terror that very little of it of was memorable in more than the barest snapshots of blood and fire. Except the Reaper.

Alex leaned forward against the viewport, only reinforced plasticine and a few strands of auburn hair between her and the Relay. The woman who had died in front of them, the colonist… her eyes had been on Alex until the blood had obscured the chitinous glass between them. Her screams had been muffled, but… not enough. Alex wasn't sure whether she wanted to be able to forget them... or to remember them forever, to remind her of the price of failure. She sighed, closing her eyes, letting the cool of the window seep through her forehead and into the fire in her brain –

"Commander, my internal sensors indicate a dangerous rise in levels of melancholy at your current location." EDI's crisp synthesized voice emerged from the speaker by the door; Alex didn't move. "Should this trend continue, I will have no choice but to seal the port observation deck and vent its contents." There was a pause. "That was a joke."

Alex pushed herself off the window, crossing to the console with a few steps. "I'm okay, EDI. Just thinking about what happened."

The security locks on the door hissed closed. "Sealing observation deck airlock."

"I'm fine! EDI, come on," Alex shouted, mashing at the console.

The door opened again. "That was also a joke."

Alex opened her mouth to reply, then smiled despite herself. "Got it." She stepped out into the crew deck hallway, blinking a little at the sudden brightness.

"Oh, there you are, Shepard," Tali exclaimed, stopping short of the door to Main Engineering. "We've been looking all over for you, you know." She cocked her left hand, bringing her omni-tool into being around it. "I found her, Joker," she said. "She was in the observation deck." The 'tool piped a tinny approximation of the pilot's voice back to her, and she deactivated it.

"A shipwide me-hunt?" Alex asked, raising an eyebrow – the one that wouldn't pull at her scars, new or old. "That sounds ominous, Tali."

"We can't very well start without you," Tali replied reasonably, taking her arm and leading her to the elevator. "Come on, Shepard. If we wait too long I think Massani might start shooting things."

* * *

"Now, I remember things a little differently," Garrus put in, slurring his words just a little. "That was the time you flipped the Mako down a ravine, wasn't it? Honestly, Commander, I've never been more afraid for my life."

"'Ravine' is pushing it, Vakarian," Alex laughed, slapping him on the arm. "It was a goddamn canyon and don't you forget it."

"That's the spirit, Shepard," Grunt growled, hefting his mug of ryncol in a semi-salute. At the table next to him, Ken Donnelly peered owlishly at the krogan's drink.

"How is tha', anyway?" he asked curiously, sliding his own glass over. "Mind if I 'ave some?"

"Inadvisable. Ryncol not suited for intake by humans," Mordin noted. "Has been described not inaccurately as 'tearing up insides'."

"It's _glowing_, Ken," Gabby Daniels pointed out, pulling him back into his chair. "Stick with drinks that won't power the drive core, okay?"

"Tha'd get us ten kilometers tops," Donnelly sniffed, but he retracted his glass – just as well, since Grunt had been pointedly ignoring it.

There was a commotion about halfway down the table, and Miranda stood up to scattered applause, a half-empty glass of white wine in her gloved hand. "Everyone, a moment please," she called. "Settle down. Be quiet, already." When the crew had quieted, she stepped out from the table, walking around the seated sailors to stand facing Alex.

"Commander, I shouldn't even be saying this, considering what you said to the Illusive Man," she began, resting her elbow on the arm wrapped around her stomach, "but given that I'm at least halfway drunk and most certainly fired, I imagine I can bear to." She raised her glass, sweeping her gaze over the assembled crew and specialists of the _Normandy_. "To Commander Shepard: scourge of the Collectors. Destroyer of Reapers. Our captain." She took a hearty drink, to massive cheering and a laconic "Fuck yeah, Cheerleader" from Jack.

"Just like old times, eh, Commander?" Joker asked, nudging Alex's shoulder with his glass. "Garrus and Tali, and Grunt _kinda_ looks like Wrex if you squint a bit, and Samara – well, Liara would never dress like that. Pity."

"No, she wouldn't," Alex murmured, taking a contemplative sip of ice brandy. After a moment, she pushed her chair out and stood. "Sorry, Joker," she said, sliding the chair back in. "The brandy's hitting me harder than I thought. I think I'll hit my bunk."

"Oh, shit. Sorry, Commander, shouldn't've brought her up," Joker replied hastily, standing up with an effort. "I know Illium was tough –"

"Jeff." EDI's projected avatar somehow seemed to scowl at him. "Be quiet."

"What?" Joker protested. Alex waved EDI off.

"Make sure no one drinks too much," she instructed the AI, disappearing to the aft of the ship – to the elevator. Joker sighed, sitting slowly back down and taking a drag off his beer.

"How does she expect you to stop us, anyway? You've got no arms," he grumbled after a moment.

* * *

**Part 2's all typed up and ready to go, though I won't be uploading it for a few days. I'd like to get a head start on my uploads for once.**

**Oh, just a note for those who were wondering: PCV stands for Private Corporation Vessel, since the SR2's technically not an Alliance ship. I think. I'm probably wrong, but oh well.**

**If you like my writing, if you hate it, if you want me to apply for a book deal or never pick up a pencil again - review and **_**tell me**_**!**


	2. Chapter 2

**And here's Chapter 2, introducing everyone's favorite information broker. I'd like to apologize for the length of these chapters, by the way; I'm trying to avoid getting bogged down in them, and I think it's working pretty well so far. Without further ado:**

* * *

**Illium**

Almara T'Riso was an excellent secretary. In practical terms, this meant that she met three criteria:

She was competent in typing and information filing.

She was skilled enough with biotics to keep most unwanted visitors at bay.

She was not working for the Shadow Broker.

Truth be told, though, she was no Nyxeris; both her personal manner and professional bearing could be grating, and she had a most annoying habit of offering suggestions in terms of both stock trades and information deals. If this meant that Liara would not have to crush her head, however, it was a fair tradeoff.

"Almara, has Mr. Thax sent the runner over yet?" Liara T'Soni asked, keying her computer in to the receptionist's channel with a single slim finger. It would be possible to simply open the door and ask her, but that defeated the purpose of having an intercom, didn't it?

"No, ma'am," the receptionist replied, after a moment. "Ma'am, there _is_ someone here to see you, though. She is… quite well-stocked."

Liara tensed. Upon her instatement as receptionist, Almara had all but insisted they adopt foolish code-words to be used to report situations out of the ordinary. 'Well-stocked' was one of the less-subtle ones; it meant 'armed'. Liara slid her hand under her desk, wrapping her fingers around the well-worn butt of a Kessler pistol. Perhaps the code words were not so foolish after all. "Send her in," she said.

The door hissed open, and Liara relaxed - a small bit. "Shepard – forgive me, Alex – it's good to see you again," she said, folding her hands atop her desk. The Commander was indeed armed – a jet-black pistol, one of the Spectre X-Series, hung from her belt – but she was in civilian clothing, and Liara's sharp eyes couldn't pick out the flickers of a personal shield around her. "To what do I owe the pleasure of the visit?"

"It's good to see you too, Liara," Shepard replied, taking a seat when Liara gestured to it. "I wanted – well, a lot of things, actually. Are you busy?"

"I am expecting an errand runner sometime this morning," Liara replied, unable to keep herself from checking the computer's projected holographic screen. "But I'm sure we'll have all the time we need." She keyed the door closed, and turned off the intercom with a sweep of her fingers. "Well then, Alex, what can I do for you?"

"Liara," Shepard began, standing up, "we just need to talk. About the Reapers. About the Collectors. About us."

Liara's eyes flicked to the small mirror on her desk. Yes – the camera atop the stall directly across the trading floor was trained on her office. Shepard's entrance had not gone unnoticed, and this conversation was likely drumming up intense interest on the part of whoever had planted the camera.

"I'm sorry, but we can't have this conversation," she replied coolly, casually shifting in her seat to hide her mouth from the camera's lens. "I'm being watched, Shepard, or had you forgotten?"

"You're still under suspicion, then?" Shepard asked, sitting down again. "Even with Ny –"

Liara's eyes flashed, blazing white with biotic energy. "Do _not_ finish that sentence, Shepard," she intoned softly. "I will not have you jeopardize my hunt by blindly spewing the news of her death all over Illium's surveillance net –"

Before she could react, Shepard's pistol was drawn and up, the barrel sliding soundlessly out of the grip to increase muzzle velocity and dampen the sound of the shot. Liara dove for the Kessler, fumbled for a critical – _the_ critical! – moment, and squeezed her eyes shut as the shot –

Blew past her ear.

Stunned, Liara felt the pistol slide from her grip. The dull thump of plasticine against the carpet shattered the stillness the bullet had left in its wake, and Liara heard the quiet tinkle of falling glass. She turned; a pattern of impossibly fine spiderweb cracks surrounded a glowing-red donut of molten glass in the floor-to-ceiling windows that looked out onto the trading floor. A tiny plume of smoke rose from the trading stall across the floor; the camera was so much scrap. Shepard holstered her pistol.

"This is why we need to talk, Liara," Shepard replied, her voice quiet. "Why can't we trust each other anymore?"

"It – it's not that simple, Shepard," Liara began, but the whir of the door interrupted her. Almara stood on the threshold, her biotic field sparking ozone-sharp in the humid air.

"Ma'am, I heard gunfire," she said, scanning the scene – and obviously coming to the wrong conclusion. Her eyes narrowed. "Shall I remove your... guest, ma'am?"

"Yes, Almara," Liara replied quickly. Shepard's eyes widened, and she opened her mouth, but Liara stepped around the desk to help her to her feet. "Please escort Commander Shepard back to the _Normandy_," she continued, giving her a gentle push in the lower back. "I'm sure she won't give you any trouble, will you, Commander?"

Shepard looked a bit perplexed, but she shook her head. "I was just heading back, anyway."

"Thank you, Shepard." As Almara and the Commander disappeared through the door, Liara sank back into her chair with an exhausted sigh. Transmitting information skin-to-skin had never been her strong suit, and was in fact incredibly difficult; still, she had to hope that the concepts of '_here_' and '_midnight_' that she had attempted to send had made it to Shepard during the brief instant her fingers had lifted the hem of the Commander's shirt. But if not…

Well. She had watched enough bridges burn to get where she was. Another would hardly add to the black smoke filling the sky.

* * *

**There's a hint of action for you - hopefully it's not too cliche. The main plot, such as it is, will be starting up next chapter, which I'll post in a few days. Part 4's giving me trouble, though, so I may or may not be able to stick to schedule after Chapter 3 goes up.**

**Thanks as always for your time, and please consider spending a little more of it dropping me a review. It gives me warm fuzzies.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, all, thanks for all your kind words so far. Rather than send off review replies for the last chapter, I'll answer 'em here. Feel free to skip this if you didn't review... but if you're a cool person, then read on, because you did.**

**AdonCa - well, let's say that at this point in time, that **_**is**_** how Liara feels. It's been two years since Shepard died, and she's had to function normally since then. It's a coping mechanism.**

**Avarenda - Read on, my friend.**

**CatsLoverRuka - Request granted! Tho' the reply is a little late. To make up for it, here's a bonus chapter.**

**Freudian Slips Cause Problems - I hope you'll **_**keep **_**looking forward to more, too!**

**Laureola - Mordin should be showing up in the next chapter, as well as some more of the ME2 crew.**

**MytheB - Thanks for your enthusiasm. **

**WhoElseBut - If you're saying what I think you're saying, thanks! Don't worry about the references to ME1 getting too obscure; if I don't remember it, don't expect to see it, heh.**

* * *

The streets of Nos Astra were never dark.

The trading floor itself was silent, yes; the information kiosks were shut down for the night, the traders long since retired to their homes. But the rest of the city was _alive_; it hummed to itself in the melodies of neon and argon, of the eddies and flows of traffic, of the endless millions of its people talking, dancing, mating. Liara's office was comfortably removed from that raw, almost seductive current of life, and she watched it through glass, arms folded pensively over her breasts. After a while, she turned back to Alex, who had taken the same chair she had used earlier in the day.

"I'm not sure what to say, Shepard," Liara admitted, absently interlacing her fingers. "Embryonic Reapers - _Prothean_ Collectors - it sounds too far-fetched to be true."

"So everyone tells me," Alex replied wryly, fiddling with the edge of her sleeve. She shook her head. "I wish you'd been there. I tried to copy the data from the medical terminal, but I didn't have time. If you could have seen… whatever the Reapers did to the Collectors, they weren't Protheans anymore. And they might do the same to us, if they don't just slaughter us all."

"The Council doesn't want to admit the danger," Liara mused. Her voice took on an odd edge. "Two years ago, I would have dropped everything to help you. Three years ago, I did." She took a breath. "I got to watch you die for my troubles." She turned back to the window, and when she spoke again, the small quaver in her voice was gone. "Times have changed, Alex. I'm not the idealistic girl from Therum anymore – I cannot help you kill yourself trying to save those too ignorant to care. I understand if you must – but I ask that you understand me in return. I have business of my own to attend to."

"The Shadow Broker," Alex said. It wasn't a question, but Liara nodded.

"I've told you what he did, and why he needs to die," she said, her eyes fixed on the streams of light below. "Whatever happens to me, the Shadow Broker must die."

"Liara – " Alex began. Liara held up a hand, interrupting her.

"Shepard, please," she replied, speaking softly. "I will not argue with you. Help me or get out of my way. I hate that it has come to this, but if you obstruct me I _will_ move you."

The chair's runners whispered along the carpet, and Liara felt Alex's arms around her.

"I won't stop you, Liara," Alex murmured, and her breath was warm on Liara's neck. "For now, though… let me hold you again?"

Liara leaned back into her lover, closing her eyes against their sudden stinging heat. "Shepard…" she began, laying her hands over the Commander's. "I need to do this, Shepard. But I am afraid I'll become… like my mother. Like Benezia."

"There are worse things to become," Alex said quietly. Liara jerked in surprise, and Alex gave her a reassuring squeeze. "I mean it. Benezia was one of the strongest people I've ever met. She sent herself on what she had to know was a suicide mission, to talk down _Saren Arterius_. Her influence probably saved billions before and during the Battle of the Citadel. She had the very best of intentions."

"Yes, well, humans say that the road to Hell is paved with good intentions," Liara replied bitterly, turning away. "What of my intentions? How do you see them?"

"Liara, your mother had a strong will, but she had no one to count on – except you," Alex said, turning Liara back to face her again. "You freed her in the end, Little Wing, remember?" Liara turned her head, light sparking in brilliant trails down her cheeks. Alex placed her hand gently on her lover's cheek, bringing the scientist's blue eyes back to her own green. "Liara. Even if you can't help me, let me help you. No matter how far into the darkness you go to find the Shadow Broker, I'll be there for you. I _will_ pull you back to me, kicking and screaming if I have to."

Liara stood still for a moment, then she leaned forward, pressing her lips to Shepard's. She tasted the salt of her own tears. Then her hands were moving, sliding smooth over soft skin, and by the _Goddess_ it had been too long.

* * *

Later, when they had dressed again and lay together on the plush carpet, Liara snuggled closer under Alex's arm, savoring the warmth of the Commander's hand resting on her stomach.

"I missed you, Alex," she whispered, turning to face Shepard. "But this doesn't change things. Please, leave tomorrow with the _Normandy_. I am still years away from the Shadow Broker, but I'll keep in touch, and I promise that I will contact you before I do anything rash." She giggled, and the past two years fell away with the sound. "Although we met enough enemies head-on in the old days to make me wonder whether you'll be any help in terms of restraint."

"Tomorrow?" Alex groaned, craning her neck to kiss Liara's ear. "If you want me to, then I'll go. But I'd like you to meet the rest of my crew first. I'll give you a tour of the SR2, and introduce you to everyone. You'll recognize a few faces, I imagine."

Liara pushed herself up on an elbow, smiling down at Alex. "That sounds… nice. I think I'd enjoy that."

"Ain't that a shame, then." The voice was high, for a krogan's, and followed immediately by the bone-shuddering _kt-chak_ of a Claymore heavy shotgun being pumped.

Liara's heart stopped. The door had been left unlocked – they had been careless, on Illium, where careless was as good as dead -

Alex pushed Liara away, rolling toward the desk that separated them from the krogan. Liara threw up a biotic field as the shotgun _roared_, wincing as the report of the blast hit her like a physical blow. Overhead, the deflected pellets shredded the metal ceiling like tissue paper, showering scraps into the office.

"Shepard!" Liara shouted, rolling to her feet. The krogan cocked her shotgun again, watching her with a lazy, self-assured air. Alex stood, slamming bullets methodically into the krogan's heavy helmet. Liara's Kessler was an old model, not retrofitted with the geth heat-sink technology that had become standard, and the cooling slits on the sides of the barrel hissed as they vented. Alex swore as the vapor scalded her unprotected hand, dropping the pistol.

"Heh. Bad idea," the krogan laughed, pumping her shotgun again. The low-power rounds had barely dented her thick armor. She took a step forward.

"Wait!" Alex shouted, stepping between the shotgun and Liara. "Wait. I want to fight you one-on-one. The krogan way. Honorably."

The mercenary cocked her head, her expression unreadable. "Honorably? I'm a merc, bitch." She raised the Claymore, not bothering to sight. At this range, the bullets would tear through both the human and the asari, and probably clear out the window, too. "I don't give a shit about hon—"

"Liara!" Alex shouted, falling to a crouch. The scientist's eyes glowed white, and she raised a hand, slamming the desk forward into the krogan. The furniture's momentum flung the mercenary bodily to the far wall, and she grunted as she was pinioned between the door and the metal desk.

"Rragh, _damnit_," she roared, struggling against the crushing force of Liara's push. "Both of you –" she broke off as Shepard, propelled by another biotic push, hit the desk at speed, driving the breath from her lungs even through her armor. Face-to-face with her target, the krogan looked up at the human, not bothering to conceal her scorn.

"And what the hell are you gonna do, huh?" she asked, voice dripping venom. She flexed mightily, pressing outward against the biotic field that held her in place. Metal shrieked as the desk began to give way, crushed between two inexorable forces.

"This," Alex replied simply. She raised the Kessler, still slowly leaking steam, and pressed the barrel against the raised metal eyepiece of the krogan's helmet.

A two-year-old Kessler IV-series pistol can fire sixteen shots before it overheats. It took four to smash through the reinforced lens.

"I wonder who sent her," Alex mused when it was done, absently cradling her right hand. The pistol lay on its side several feet away, blowing tendrils of pearlescent vapor into the air. Liara joined Alex at the door and sighed, wrapping her lover's injured hand in a shimmering biotic field.

"Hiring a Blood Pack assassin is not the Shadow Broker's way," she muttered, more to herself than to Shepard. "Certainly not a krogan with a Claymore." She raised her hand, and the desk slid slowly aside, pushing a lazy wave of deep-crimson blood ahead of it. The door whooshed open, and the pair stepped out into the stairwell. Liara took a deep breath of the lukewarm night air, then gently pulled Alex along. "Come on, Alex. Your hand needs to be looked at."

Liara let the Commander lead the way back to the docks, only half paying attention to Shepard's mostly-good-natured curses or even the route they were following. The other half of her mind turned in circles, wheels within wheels, shadows within shadows... and she didn't like where the revolutions were leading her.

* * *

**Bah. These chapters always look longer in Word.**

**Anyway, the plot thickens! To be honest, I'm kind of disappointed I had to kill off the female krogan. She ended up with more personality than I had originally figured for her... oh well.**

**No word on when Part 4'll be done. It's not done as of the posting, but I'll spend some quality time on it and see what I end up with in a few days. **

**Until then, find peace in the embrace of the Goddess. (And review.)**


	4. Chapter 4Announcement

**Alright, folks, time for a bit of an announcement. I just finished ME3 - bullshit, by the way - which means you can expect more fic (and higher-quality! I just reread _Five Stars_, and ugh!) about Mass Effect from me, since it's going to be the flavor du jour for a while now, I imagine.  
**

**Unfortunately, given the release of the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC, this fic is entirely obsolete and I will not be continuing it. I know it's been a long time, but here's what I had of Chapter 4 before I stopped writing. It's unpolished and wandering, with no direction and little plot relevance, but hopefully you'll still enjoy it. Please look forward to my new stuff, once I have time to write it in school.  
**

**I'll even let you folks decide what I should work on first - here's a list of my prospective ideas. Just leave a review with your thoughts. Note that you're also free to suggest ideas and comment on these.**

**Jack's first days at Grissom (will require me to replay to the Grissom mission and complete it this time; not preferred due to time constraints)  
Independence Day, one year later - a reunion of Normandy crew is interrupted by a Cerberus holdout group  
Shepard and Liara shop for a houseship  
A new relay is discovered, and the Normandy is the best choice to scout the far side  
Fornax' publisher is implicated in a red sand smuggling ring, and Liara and Tali - much to Shepard and Garrus' chagrin - volunteer to infiltrate  
The brother of the private from Bay D24 returns home  
A science lab outpost on an ice world goes dark**

**Let me know what you think!**

* * *

"Commander, it is 0545 hours. I believe you wanted to inspect the crew's quarters this morning?" Alex sighed and pulled her pillow over her head. She'd been just about ready to drop off, too.

"All right, EDI, thanks," she called, sitting up. Little more than an hour had passed since they had returned to the _Normandy_, and she was sharply feeling the sleep she hadn't gotten; but the crew had come to expect quarters inspections on Tuesdays, and it wouldn't do to deprive them of something to half-jokingly grumble about.

"I had forgotten what life aboard a military vessel was like," Liara mumbled beside her. "And I was happy that way." Alex looked over at her lover; they had both almost literally fallen into bed from exhaustion, and Liara's dress was rather rumpled. And for maybe the first time since Shepard's… reawakening, her face was once again almost childlike, lacking the severity and steel the past two years had inlaid into her eyes and the lines of her lips. Shepard hated to disturb her like this.

"I've got inspections to do," she murmured, laying a hand on Liara's shoulder. "You can stay here." The gentle pressure of Liara's shoulder against her palm caused the steam burn to sting a little; but it was better than it had been even an hour ago. Mordin did good work.

_The _Normandy_ SR-2's interior lights worked on a twenty-four hour schedule when not on alert; at 0530 hours in the 'morning', crew cabin and deck lights turned on at half-strength, brightening to full lighting by 0600. Likewise, a half-hour period of 'twilight' was enforced at 2300. Many crewmembers held their own timetables, especially the nonhuman crew (and Jack); but the fact remained that after midnight, the ship was dark save for the guide lights along the centers of the walkways. Or it was supposed to be._

"_Quite nice to meet you, Dr. T'Soni," Mordin said again, waving Alex and Liara into the medical bay, which was brightly lit as usual. Out of curiosity, Shepard keyed up the clock on EDI's wall-mounted terminal. Emerald digits blinked '0424' at her, and she had to fight back a yawn. "Professor Mordin Solus, _Normandy _resident geneticist, medical doctor, surgeon."_

"_It is my pleasure, Professor," Liara replied politely. She took a seat by the door. "Please forgive my brevity, but I need to… to think."_

_Mordin nodded, motioning Alex over to the wetwork counter. Though it had served every function from diagnostic bay to operating table over its month__of service, the surface was polished to a surgical shine, like everything else in the lab. Alex laid her hand on the table, and Mordin circled around to take a look at it._

_On the other side of the room, Liara mused. Few organizations on Illium had been aware of her job as an information broker; fewer still of her real name or connection with Commander Alexandra Shepard. Her hunt for the Shadow Broker had been discreet – when time had allowed it to be so – and nothing she had done was worth such a clumsy assassination attempt. That meant one of two things: either the Shadow Broker was making beginner's errors, reacting to mere suspicions with unsubtle and ineffective force… or someone else had ordered the attempt._

"_Liara," Alex said, with an air of patience. Liara looked up, surprised. "You need to lower your biotic field," Shepard reminded her, smiling._

_Liara nodded, sighing. "Of course. I apologize." The purple-blue field around Alex's hand shimmered away, and Mordin set to wrapping the injured limb with gauze. _

"_There," he said after a few minutes, tying the bandage off around Shepard's wrist. "Medi-gel infused into bandage will accelerate healing. Remove in twenty-four hours." He blinked at Alex before stooping to put the roll of bandages away. "Wonder, however, how sustainment of first-degree burns possible during covert meeting."_

"_It wasn't as covert as we hoped," Alex answered distractedly, giving her hand a flex. The bandages fit well, and pulled only a little at her knuckles. Across the counter, Mordin made a studiously noncommittal noise, and Alex felt her face warm. "We were attacked by a krogan mercenary," she protested, trying hard not to look at Liara._

"_Not judging your recreational activities, Shepard," Mordin replied, deadpan. His eyes sparkled in his scarred face, though, and Alex took a mock swat at him as she stood. He dodged it easily, returning to a pile of equipment already set up at the bacterial/viral station. _

"_Excuse me, Commander. Should likely return to work," he said, bending to look through the eyepiece of a microscope. "Peculiar strain of bacteria – abnormal reproduction rate. Need another Petri dish," he muttered, looking up to fetch one. "Good night, Shepard. Sleep is best medicine – remember medi-gel only accelerates healing."_

"_We'll leave you to your work, Mordin," Alex said. She offered Liara a hand, and they stepped out onto the dimly lit main deck. _

Alex rolled out of bed, running a comb haphazardly through her hair. Liara sat up as Shepard stripped out of her day-old shore clothes, rubbing sleep out of her eyes as she did so. "No, I'll come with you on the inspections," she offered, joining Alex by her locker. "Do you have spare clothes?"

"Anything you like in there," Alex replied, pulling on her science-team uniform. Liara raised an eyebrow, and Alex shrugged. "Dr. Chakwas suggested I try one on back when we were just getting started assembling the specialists. I didn't like it very well, but she insisted… and it's grown on me," she admitted. "Oh, that's right. I was going to surprise you," she added ruefully, catching Liara's expression.

"How is she?" Liara asked, donning an identical uniform. "Ah, I have your name on me, Shepard." She pulled the shoulder patch around to look at it more clearly.

"She's doing well. A little shaken up still, after the Jump," Alex replied, her voice darkening somewhat. "I can't blame her."

There was a moment of silence, not long enough to be awkward, but long enough to be noticeable. Fortunately, EDI's voice piped through the speakers, breaking the unintentionally delicate atmosphere. "Commander, you are coming, right?" the AI asked, a hint of something just this side of irritation in her voice.

Alex ran the comb through her hair one more time, then jogged over to the elevator. "We're coming, EDI," she said, thumbing the call button. The elevator doors pinged open, and they were soon on their way down.

"You know, Commander, I joined up with Cerberus so I could _stop_ following Alliance regs," Hawthorne said, standing at attention beside his neatly-made bunk. Matthews, who had the bunk above, nudged his shoulder.

"Liar. You're always the first one up on inspection days, making sure everything's perfect," the dark-haired sailor said, smiling. Hawthorne winced, rubbing his arm.

"Careful, John, I'm still a little sore," he chided his friend. Alex nodded respectfully to him and turned to Liara, who stood by the crew quarters' door.

"Hawthorne charged a husk Scion when the _Normandy_ was attacked, to buy Joker some time to get the defenses back up," she explained. "He's been in the medical bay since a few days ago."

"Yeah, and a damn sight more modest about it than he deserves to be," Hadley put in from his bunk near the viewport. "Broke what, Hawthorne, five ribs and both legs?"

"And my arm, in two places," Hawthorne finished, not without a certain pride.

Alex smiled. "Carry on, men." She snapped them a quick left-handed salute, which they returned as one, and exited. "Most of the crew are ex-Alliance," she explained to Liara as they headed to the fore. "Throw them a salute, and they just react to it."

"Cerberus can pick them," Liara agreed quietly. Alex's smile grew wider, and she gave a small laugh.

"Given the Illusive Man's reaction when I told him where he could stick his cigarette, he doubtless thought so, too," she chuckled. Liara looked at her, surprised, and Alex shrugged, serious again.

"He wanted to keep the Collector base we found past the Omega 4 Relay," she explained. "Keep the Reaper technology, 'to secure human dominance in the galaxy'." She snorted. "I saw enough of what humanity's capable of growing up on Earth," she said. "We're no better suited to run this place than anyone else out there, and I figured it was about time he learned that."

Shepard cleared her throat, embarrassed. "Sorry. I, uh… let's move on." She keyed open the door to the forward batteries control, stepping into the dimly lit room as the panels slid apart. Garrus sat on a pile of metal boxes, sighting calmly down the length of his rifle's elongated barrel toward the hulking cylinders of the _Normandy_'s formidable teeth. "Hey, Garrus," Alex said, leaning against the doorframe. "I knew I wouldn't have to bother checking your bunk. How are things in here?"

"Same as always, Commander," the lanky turian replied, setting his gun down. "I recalibrated the Thanix Cannon yesterday, so –" he broke off as he turned around. "Well, well, I don't believe it. Liara?"

"Garrus? Garrus Vakarian?" Liara asked, stepping fully into the room. "I almost didn't recognize you."

"Well, there's a story behind that," Garrus replied, running a hand across the rippled scars that bisected his right cheek. "I'll tell you sometime later. So, the Commander finally got you back, huh?"

"She's not coming with us," Alex replied, speaking up before Liara could. "Personal matters to deal with. I'm just showing her the SR2."

"I see," Garrus replied thoughtfully. "Well, we certainly could use another familiar face around here. The SR2 is nice, but it feels empty without the rest of the old crew around." He scratched idly at his faceplates. "I even miss Chief Williams… a bit."

"Now that we've severed ties with Cerberus, maybe we can talk her back around," Alex suggested. Garrus shrugged noncommittally.

"Well, Commander, I should get back to work," he said, picking up the rifle again. "Good seeing you, Liara."

"You too," Liara replied, following Alex from the room. As the door hissed closed behind them, she turned to Shepard, opening her mouth.

"I don't want to talk about it," Alex said tightly, heading aft. "Ash thought we – either Cerberus or us personally – were behind the attacks on the colonies. She probably still does," she sighed, after a moment. "I've been trying to get a message through to her, but either she's not answering or the Alliance is filtering her mail."

She shook her head, visibly dropping the subject. "Come on. I'll introduce you to our Head Engineers."

The Engineering Deck was the quietest on the _Normandy_ aside from the captain's cabin, despite the constant low hum of the drive core. Samara greeted Liara with polite interest; even Jack made a brief appearance at the foot of the stairs into the lower storage deck, peering upward at Alex and Liara from the dim red depths of her preferred habitat. She studied Liara for a moment and pointed straight at Alex. "Called it," she said, disappearing back below the deck.

"Good mornin', Commander," Ken Donnelly began as they stepped into the main Engineering cabin. "I know it's early, but I was wond'rin' if I could – oh, no, not another woman," he cried in mock dismay, catching sight of Liara. "Commander, I'm outnumbered as i'tis."

"Ignore him," Gabby Daniels recommended, stepping forward to shake Liara's hand. "It's what I do. Gabby Daniels."

"Hang on just a second, I'll fetch Tali," Ken said, walking over to the center of the room. "She's cleanin' out the ducts." He grabbed hold of a length of cord bobbing gently around from the maintenance shaft in the ceiling, giving it a quick tug. "She should be back soon," he assured Alex, returning to his post.


End file.
